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Study
Reports Important Economic Benefits from Energy Tax Credits
SALEM- The Oregon Department of Energy has released a report that
showed Business and Residential Energy Tax Credit (BETC and RETC)
programs delivered a nearly 3-to-1 return on the state's investment,
creating more than $616 million in economic investments and wages,
and more than 1,700 jobs, in the last two years.
Completed by Portland-based ECONorthwest, the independent study also
shows that the programs helped Oregonians save nearly $300 million in
energy costs. Additional benefits from BETC and RETC include more
than $22 million in net tax revenue for state and local governments
and reductions in carbon dioxide of nearly 2.4 million tons. The
study covered 2007 and the first ten months of 2008.
"This thorough analysis shows that the tax credits are not only
encouraging renewable energy and conservation projects, but they are
also creating hundreds of new jobs each year and increasing tax
revenues for state and local government," said Department of
Energy Director, Michael Grainey. "Oregonians are getting an
excellent return on their investment in new energy and energy savings."
The combined total of BETC and RETC tax credits approved during the
two-year period was $244.2 million. Oregonians received over 77,000
RETC tax credits for high efficiency appliances, heating and air
conditioning systems, solar systems and hybrid cars. Around 3,800
BETC tax credits were issued for energy conservation and recycling
projects, renewable energy resources and less-polluting
transportation fuels.
The study examined the net impacts of the tax credits to Oregon as
well as spending by business owners and residents taking advantage of
these tax credits. The net economic impacts reflect the benefits over
and above the cost of the tax credits to state income.
"With the current economic downturn, programs that invest in
energy efficiency and renewable energy are going to play an even more
critical role in helping to create jobs and lead us out of this
recession," Grainey added. "With the help of the BETC,
we've been able to complete many valuable energy projects, attract
and construct solar renewable manufacturing facilities and build
large wind facilities in Oregon, making us a leader in solar and wind development."
The Department of Energy offers tax credits to Oregon residents and
businesses that invest in energy efficiency, conservation and
renewable energy projects. Residential tax credits are available for
high-efficiency appliances, heating systems and qualifying services.
Businesses can receive tax credits for 35 percent of eligible costs
for conservation projects and 50 percent for renewable energy
projects. The renewable energy tax credit was changed from 35 to 50
percent in 2007 by the Oregon Legislature to stimulate renewable
energy development. The number of BETC applications more than doubled
between 2006 and 2008 from 2,101 to 4,244.
A previous study on the tax credit programs by ECONorthwest showed
that the programs created over 1,200 new jobs, created Oregon wages
of $18.6 million and contributed over $140 million to Oregon's
economy in 2006.
The net impacts of the BETC and RETC for 2007-8:
To view the new study, please go to www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/BUS/BETC.shtml |
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How
to Deal with Urban Heat Islands -
Even
in Small Towns and Cities!
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Even in the small towns of eastern Oregon, there is an obvious heat
island effect. The temperature displayed on the big digital sign in
downtown John Day is usually about five degrees hotter than the
official high for the day, or the temperature at the fairgrounds by
the river.
Hot downtowns are not inevitable, but rather the product of dark
roofs, black pavement, and loss of vegetation. Dark roofs and
pavements, baked by the sun, warm the air that blows over them. The
resulting "urban heat island" causes discomfort, and
increases energy use for air-conditioning. One sixth of the
electricity consumed in the United States goes to cool buildings, at
an annual power cost of $40 billion. Moreover, a 5°F heat island
greatly raises the rate at which pollutants "cook" into
ozone, a highly oxidizing and irritating gas that is the main
ingredient of smog. |
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What's the best way to cool our communities so we don't have to
suffer any more than necessary on the increasing number of hot summer
days each year? Fortunately, we can go a long way toward dissipating
urban heat islands with simple measures. One solution is to use
lighter colors for roofs and pavement. The other is to plant lots of
trees, which have a two-fold benefit. First, they provide cooling
shade. Second, trees, like most plants, soak up groundwater, which
then "evapotranspires" from the leaves (thus cooling the
leaves and, indirectly, the surrounding air). A single properly
watered tree can offset the heat equivalent to that produced by one
hundred 100-watt lamps, burning eight hours per day.
The planting of trees combats global warming two ways: by cutting the
use of fossil fuels (for cooling) and by sequestering carbon dioxide
in their wood. For these purposes, planting trees in cities and towns
is far more effective than planting trees in forests. Not all trees
are equally beneficial. Deciduous trees provide shade in summer, but
do not block the solar radiation which could warm your house in winter.
Replacing
Your Roof
Look for a material with a high solar reflectance (sometimes called
albedo). The best ones are usually smooth and white. There are, for
example, white roof coatings that can be applied over asphalt
shingles and most other roofing substrates. Reflectance tests show
that some roof coatings, including so-called ceramic coatings and
elastomeric coatings, provide a solar reflectance of over 80%.
Conventional white asphalt shingles, in contrast, typically reflect
only about 25% of sunlight (because they are actually gray, with a
rough texture and a black substrate). Premium white asphalt shingles
use a whiter white granule, providing a reflectance of up to 35%.
Light-colored roofs have an added advantage over dark roofs: they
tend to last longer, because cooler roofs are generally more durable.
Regardless of reflectance, material also affects how well the roof
sheds heat. For instance, curved tiles and wood usually allow air to
circulate, helping to keep them cool.
Radiant
Barriers
If you're replacing the whole roof deck, you can easily install
radiant barriers at the same time. Plywood is available with radiant
barrier attached, which you can use in place of standard decking,
with the aluminum foil facing down into the attic. In hot climates
this is a sensible, cost-effective, and easy retrofit. If you are not
replacing the roof deck, you can still install a radiant barrier by
stapling it to the underside of the existing sheathing (but this is
more difficult, and it may be better to put in more insulation
instead). If you have air conditioning ducts in your attic, the
radiant barrier can help reduce air conditioning costs by cooling the
attic so the ducts absorb less heat.
There are both "direct" savings and "indirect" as
you cool individual buildings and the air conditioning load for all
buildings drops with the cooling of the surrounding community. With
white roofs, lighter-colored pavements, and more shade trees, eastern
Oregon towns could be cooler than the dry hills that surround them,
instead of hotter. Such measures have been taken for centuries in
hot, dry climates. As air conditioning became widespread, cheap, and
taken for granted, less attention was paid to passive cooling
techniques. Together, the planting of trees and the lightening of
roofs and pavement could lower the average summer afternoon
temperature in eastern Oregon's downtowns by 5°F, cutting the
need for air conditioning by 18 percent, and reducing the need for
peak electrical generating capacity.
Resources:
http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/makingithappen/no_regrets/coolroofs.html |
